Snow leveler and packer



J. LE VALLEY.

SNOW LEVELER AND PACKER. APPLICATiON FILED OCT. 6, I92Q.

Patented May 16, 192 2 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITN E55 ES Q JW J. M. LE VALLEY.-

SNOW LEVELER AND PACKER.

APPLICATXON FILED ocT. 6,1920.

1,41 ,5 3, Patented May 16, 1922.,

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Application filed. October 6, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. Ln VALLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tonia, in the county of Ionia and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Snow Leveler and Packer, of which'the following is' a specification.

This invention relates to implements for breaking roads when heavily laden with snow.

The general object of the invention is to provide an implement of rugged and sturdy construction which-packs the snow down hard, thus making an easily traveled road, and which does not throw any of the snow to one side of the road.

A further object of the invention is to provide an implement of the indicated character which not merely packs down the snow but provides a specially hard packed section where the traffic will be heaviest.

Another object is to provide means for adjusting the pressure of the parts which pack down the snow.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined t any strict conformity with the showing in the drawing, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modi lications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 -is a side elevation, with parts" broken away, of an implement constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view with parts in elevation.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the rear part of the implement.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the'inounting of one of the packing rollers.

The implement includes a main frame con- I sisting of outside longitudinally-extending beams 6 and an intermediate beam or beams 6 having a length greater than the two outer beams. At the forward end of the beam 6*, a king bolt 7 is provided for the -pivotal attachment of a sled, which pro- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1922.

Serial No. 415,184.

vides means whereby the implement mav be steered. w

The sled has transversely extending frame members 8 and 9 parallel to each other and joined together by a longitudinal frame member 10. The king bolt 7 traverses the rear end of the member 10 and the frame member 8 at a midpoint of the latter. The ends of the frame members8 and 9 are connected in any desirable way to runners 11. These runners are curved on their under faces, such curvature preferably being the are of a circle, and are very broad so as to break two paths in the snow spaced apart the distance between the wheels of ordinary vehicles. The forward frame member 9 mounts a tongue l2-whereby draft animals may guide the sled over the road and thereby guide the entire implement. The doubletree would ordinarily be attached to the tongue 12 at its base, but such a device has been omitted from the drawing as not necessary to an understanding of the invention.

Mounted on the under side of the beams 6, 6 and swingably connected to each beam, as indicated at'15, is a leveler or packer including frame members 13 and a curved base 14.. This leveler or packer has awidth equal to that of the implement, which. in practice may be nine feet. The outer frame beams 6- have slots or cavities 17 for receiving guide bars 16 swingably-mounted at their lower ends upon the frame members 13. At a point intermediate the ends of the leveler or packer a socket plate 18 is provided for receiving a ball-headed end 19 of a screwthreaded rod20. The upper end of the rod 20'has a hand wheel 21. The rod 20 passes through a screw-threaded sleeve provided in the beam (i and the hand wheel provides means whereby the leveler or packer may be raised or lowered. It will be understood that the forward end of the leveler or packer is maintained at a fixed elevation by reason of the hinged connections 15, but the rear end is free to swing, being prevented from side sway by the guide bars 16 and being adjusted by the screw-threaded rod 20.

To the rear of the sled the beams are boarded over as indicated at 22, thus providing a platform. Here the driver may conveniently stand, adjusting the height of the leveler or packer by turning the hand wheel 21; To the rear of the. platform 22 a housing is provided, which housing includes an upright wall 23, side walls 28 and a top 24. Upon this top, weights may be supported, if desired, so that the effectiveness of the implement as a packer is varied to suit conditions. The housing is provided for a plurality of packing rollers 25, each mounted independently of the other on a shaft or axle 26.

Each axle 26 is mounted between the intermediate beam 6 and the corresponding outer beam 6, and the two axles are in hori- Zontal alinement. Thus, the rollers turn independently of each other and allow the implement to travel easier in making a turn. The treads of the rollers are very broad in order that as much packing action as possible may'take place; while it will be noted from Fig. 2 that these rollers follow in the tracks of the paths first broken by the wide runners 11.

The extremities of the outer beams 6 have screw-threaded sleeves 27 receiving screwthreaded rods 28 having hand wheels 29 at their upper ends. The lower end of each rod 28 has a ball-shaped socket member 31 received in a correspondingly shaped socket piece provided in a planer 30. This planer may be made up of a series of heavy boards or timbers joined together and having beveled upper and lower ends so as to form, when put together, a surfacing element which. has the cross section of a parallelogram. The front and rear walls of this surfacing element are faced with plates 33 and 82, respectively, these plates extending below the timbers as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 so that the lower edges of these plates are subjected to wear. The planer is connected with the beams of the frame by a plurality of chains 34. By means of these chains, the

i strain of the draft on the planer is to a large extent taken off the screw-threaded rods 28.

lVhen the implement is in use, the broad runners of the sled break two paths, and. the leveler or packer following immediately behind packs the snow throughout the entire width of the implement to the desired level; then follow the rollers which compress still further the snow originally packed down by the runners, while the planer puts the proper hard and smooth surface on the road. The adjustment of the relative pressure which the planer, the rollers and the leveler or packer exert upon the road, maybe varied to a large extent. Obviously, the further down the planer is adjusted, the more weight will be put upon the planer and the less weight will be borne by the rollers. The same statement may be made of the adjustment of the packer. The character of the road broken by the implement, it is thus seen, may be varied to a considerable degree to suit traffic conditions. It is ordinarily desirable to pack the road hardest where the runners are to travel, and the present implement is particularly well adapted to accomplish this result. None of the tractive force is employed to force any of the snow into the ditches, but all of the snow is packed in place upon the road where it will form a smooth hard surface, making travel relatively easy.

W hat is claimed is 1. In combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end of the frame for guiding the same. a packing roller supporting the frame, and a nonrotatable leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled.

2. In combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end of the frame for guiding the same, a packing roller supporting the frame, a nonrotataljile leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, and a planer at the rear of the roller.

' 3. The combination with a frame, a sled for guiding the frame and supporting the forward end thereof, a plurality of packing rollers supporting the rear end of the frame, said rollers being mounted on independent axles for turning individually and having broad treads, said sled having runners also provided with broad treads in advance of the rollers whereby the paths broken by the runners have the snow therein further compressed by the rollers.

i. In combination, a frame, a sled for guiding the frame and supporting the forward end thereof, a packing roller supporting the rear end of the frame, and a leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, said packer having an arcuately curved under packing face and extending the full width of the frame.

In combination, a frame, a sled for guiding the frame and supporting the forward end thereof, a packing roller support ing the rear end of the frame, a leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, said packer having an arcuately curved under packing face and extending the full width of the frame, means for pivotally supporting the forward end of the leveler or packer, and means for adjusting the height of the leveler or packer relative to the frame.

6. In combination, a frame, a sled for guiding the frame and supporting the forward end thereof, a packing roller supporting the rear end of the frame, a leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, said packer having an arcuately curved under packing face and extending the full width of the frame, means for pivotally supporting the forward end of the leveler or packer, means for adjusting the height of the leveler or packer relative to the frame, and means pivotally mounted on the leveler or packer and engaging with the frame for preventing side sway of the packer,

7. In. combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end of the frame for guiding the same, a packing roller supporting the frame, a leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, a planer at the rear of the. roller, said planer having a cross section of a parallelogram and extending the full width of the frame, means for adjusting the height of the planer, and other means for connecting the planer with the frame.

8. In combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end of the frame for guiding the same, a packing roller supporting the frame, a leveler or packer intermediate the roller and sled, a planer at the rear of the roller, said planer having a cross section of a parallelogram and extending the full width of the frame, means for adjusting the height of the planer, and

other means for connecting the planer with the frame, the front and rear faces of the planer having plates extending below the main body of the planer for engagement along their lower edges with the road.

9. In combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end of the frame for guiding the same, a planer at the rear of the roller, said planer having a cross section of a parallelogram and extending the full width of the frame, means for adjusting the height of the planer, and other means for connecting the planer with the frame, the front and rear faces of the planer the leveler or packer, and means for adjusting the height of the leveler or packer relative to the frame.

11. In combination, a frame, a sled pivotally mounted at the forward end thereof for guiding and supporting the frame, a leveler or packer mounted to the rear of the sled, means for pivotally supporting the forward end of the leveler or packer, means for adjusting the position of the leveler or packer relative to the frame, means to prevent side sway of the leveler or packer, a housing provided on the frame to the rear of the leveler or packer, a plurality of rollers mounted within the housing to turn independently of each other, said rollers supporting the frame in cooperation with the sled, a planer extending the entire width of the frame to the rear of the housing of the rollers, means for connecting the planer to the frame, and means for adjusting the height thereof.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto afiixed my signature.

JOHN MARTIN LE VALLEY. 

